The Miami Heat and New Orleans Pelicans make a push in their respective conferences, while the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers each lose some momentum in the Western Conference playoff race.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Detroit Pistons | 32-39 | 47.8 | 21 | 1 |
| 19 | Denver Nuggets | 39-33 | 49.7 | 18 | -1 |
| 18 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 42-29 | 49.9 | 17 | -1 |
| 17 | Miami Heat | 39-33 | 50.5 | 19 | 2 |
| 16 | Milwaukee Bucks | 37-34 | 51.2 | 16 | 0 |
| 15 | Charlotte Hornets | 31-41 | 51.5 | 15 | 0 |
| 14 | Washington Wizards | 40-31 | 52.5 | 13 | -1 |
| 13 | New Orleans Pelicans | 42-30 | 52.8 | 14 | 1 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Clippers | 38-33 | 53.7 | 10 | -2 |
| 11 | Indiana Pacers | 41-31 | 54.0 | 11 | 0 |
Risers
The Miami Heat have won nine of their last 13 games, and their 149-141 double-overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday should probably have counted for two wins. They currently sit in seventh in the Eastern Conference, but they are only three-and-a-half games back of the third-place Cleveland Cavaliers, if you can believe it.
The New Orleans Pelicans are becoming a pesky team, and it's legitimizing Anthony Davis' MVP chances. They have won 14 of their last 18 games, currently sit in fifth in the Western Conference (although they are tied in the loss column with the fourth-place Oklahoma City Thunder), and are only two-and-a-half games out of third. Not bad for a team we all thought was cooked after losing DeMarcus Cousins for the year almost two months ago.
Fallers
The Denver Nuggets have lost three of their last five contests and now sit a game-and-a-half back of the Utah Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They simply can't afford to play poorly right now, as we give them only a 16.2% chance of making the postseason at this point.
The Los Angeles Clippers won last night, but that victory was preceded by a four-game losing streak. They have slipped out of a playoff spot and now sit a half-game back of the ninth-place Nuggets and a full two games behind the eighth-place Jazz. We give the Clippers a mere 20.0% chance of making it to the postseason at this point, so it makes sense that they would slip out of our top tier this week.